Being a Hero
by Mickey0107
Summary: Danny has lost everything. Jazz, Maddie, Jack, Sam, Tucker, even Lancer. It's made him a shell of the young hero he once was. But Clockwork, taking pity on him, sends him to another world into the guidance of the last Guardian, Master Fu. But will Danny remain the empty shell he has become or will a certain bluenette rescue him? Light cussing, probably. Danny x Marinette
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, ya'll! It's Mickey and I'm here at the request of ****rhinocaputo777 who wanted me to do a crossover with Miraculous Ladybug and Danny Phantom and here it is! **

**I actually had a lot of fun making this and through the struggles of my cat rubbing itself across the screen of my computer constantly, I think I have created a pretty good story. Or maybe just good. **

**This is set in the first season of Miraculous Ladybug just (though now the show is way too slow, it really needs to hurry up) before Volpina. Then Danny Phantom is set up after the Nasty Burger explosion. Just so you guys know where everything is at. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MIRACULOUS LADYBUG OR DANNY PHANTOM!**

**Summary: **Danny has lost everything. Jazz, Maddie, Jack, Sam, Tucker, even Lancer. It's made him a shell of the young hero he once was. But Clockwork, taking pity on him, sends him to another world into the middle of an villain prone city in Paris. But will Danny remain the empty shell he has become or will a certain bluenette rescue him? Light cussing, probably

**Please, please, please let me know what you guys think in the reviews and let me know what miraculous Danny should get. I'm still debating over that, but opinions are very welcome.**

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**Falling from New Heights (Edited)**

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The night sky was glowing with the help of the full moon and the twinkling stars around it. Below in the city of Paris, a young girl watched the night sky as she sighed. There was so much going on in that mind of her's, too much for a young girl like her. She moved her bluebell eyes downcast and saw the glowing city of Paris, her home. Then her phone began vibrating in her pocket causing the bluenette to jump and quickly dig for her phone. She saw the caller ID and answered it.

"Hey, gurl! How are you?" A little smile graced her lips. Her best friend and confidant, Alya Cesaire, seemed always to be there for her whenever she needed. She took her time before she answered.

"I'm good. Just thinking for inspiration for a new design." She answered as she looked towards where the Eiffel Tower stood, glowing in the distance.

"Really? Oh, I can't wait for you to show me, Marinette." Alya said as Marinette looked to see her flowers that were growing on her little balcony. There she caught her little ladybug themed kwami, a creature that allowed her to become someone very special. "Did you see Ladybug today? She was so awesome..." Alya continued to ramble on and on about Ladybug as Marinette stifled a laugh. Although Alya was her best friend and confined in almost everything to her, there were somethings that even Alya didn't know about Marinette.

First of all, she didn't know that Marinette owned a diary that held every single secret that she hid from the world. Next, Alya didn't know that Marinette knew how to defend herself in rough situations. And finally, she didn't know that Marinette was a very famous Parisian hero named Ladybug. Well, that was a secret that she kept from everyone including her parents.

"Marinette, are you listening to me?" Alya's voice brought Marinette out of her thoughts. Marinette saw her little kwami, Tikki, giggling in the corner of her eye.

"Yes, you were talking about Ladybug and how awesome she is that she stopped that akuma earlier today." Marinette said as she imagined Alya with a satisfied smile on her face. Oh, how easy it was to satisfy her best friend through the means of a superheroine.

"Good, well I got to head to sleep. I'll see you at school tomorrow, don't be late." Before Marinette could say anything the line was cut off. Marinette sighed and placed her phone back in her pocket.

"Are you okay, Marinette? You seem sad." Tikki said as she floated in front of her chosen's face. Marinette held out a hand for her kwami to land on and took a deep breath.

"I'm not sad, Tikki. I'm just thinking." Marinette said as Tikki tilted her head. She had to admit, her kwami was dangerously too cute for her own good sometimes. She even fell for all the cutesy faces that the child she babysits.

"Thinking about what?" Tikki asked as Marinette gave her a small smile.

"I've been saving Paris for a while now and I just feel..." Marinette shrugged her shoulders. "stuffed." Tikki blinked, but waited for her chosen to continue. "All I ever hear is that Ladybug has done this, Ladybug has done that. But...But what has Marinette done?" Marinette allowed Tikki to take flight as she folded her arms over the railing and leaned forward, staring at her city. "I'm the shy clumsy girl, who can't even talk straight to her crush. Ladybug is this confident persona that shy girl puts on and tries to be someone she cannot." Tikki's eyes widened.

"Marinette!" Marinette snapped her eyes to the floating spirit. "You are Ladybug as well as Marinette Dupain-Cheng! You're brave, shy, clumsy, confident, graceful, and smart all in one." Tikki placed a little stubby arm on her chosen's cheek. "You look down on yourself too much. It worries me." Marinette's eyes grew misty as she patted Tikki on the head.

"Thank you, Tikki. I really needed that." Tikki beamed at Marinette. Marinette took one more deep breath, but didn't hear the creaking of metal. She once more fell into her thoughts, which now had a much more positive outlook on her life. She didn't hear Tikki's warnings until it was too late. A long creak rang out and her railing gave loose. She toppled over the side and began to fall. Weirdly though, Marinette didn't scream. It was as if she was paralyzed and her body wasn't responding to her at all. All she could do was stare at the sky before her. If this was the last thing that she saw, then she could be happy. At least for now, she was content. She awaited her fate, but then she felt herself stop and the night sky still looked the same.

"Are you alright?" She heard a gruff voice and turned to see the bluest of eyes she had ever seen. Marinette felt something within her stir as she nodded her head. "That's good." She was placed on her feet and looked at her savior, at least for the night. Those blue eyes belonged to a boy with unkempt raven hair that fell over his eyes, giving him that mysterious look. He was tall, taller than her and possibly Adrien. But there was one thing that she noticed, his eyes were dull as if they held no light in them at all.

"Thank you...for saving me." Marinette said as the boy nodded.

"It's really no problem. Please don't mention it again." Then the familiar chime of a bell rang and Marinette turned to see her parents with worried looks on their faces.

"Marinette! Are you alright?" Her mother asked as she grabbed Marinette's cheeks and checked all over for any sign of bruises or scrapes.

"Maman! I'm fine. I was caught by a boy passing by." Marinette turned around to introduce her parents to the boy, but he was long gone. Marinette blinked and tilted her head. "He was right here." She looked around for any sign of the boy, but there was none at all.

"I don't see any boy." Her papa said as he looked around as well. Marinette shook her head, but couldn't get the image of the boy out from her head. There was something about him that drew Marinette towards him.

"Nevermind. I'm just going to head to bed." Her parents nodded understandingly. She truly had the best parents in the world. They always cared for her and made sure she was alright mentally, physically, and emotionally. It was because of that it killed her for not telling her patents about her super secret. She bid goodnight once more to her parents and walked up the stairs to her bed room. There she saw Tikki with a furious expression.

"Do you know how worried I was when you fell over?! You didn't even transform! You could have easily swung away." Tikki lectured as Marinette quickly climbed in bed. Yes, why didn't she transform? Maybe cause she thought there might be other people around to watch her? To protect her identity? She truly didn't know.

"We can talk about this in the morning, Tikki. I'm tired..." And with that Marinette fell into a peaceful sleep, dreaming about blue eyes.

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He was taking a walk when it happened. A young blue haired girl had fallen from the sky, or rather the balcony, into his arms. He had easily caught her and kept on his feet as he grunted. It wasn't that she was heavy, it was freaking gravity. Actually, everything was gravity's fault. He snapped out of his depressing thoughts and focused on the girl.

"Are you alright?" He asked and she turned to face him. He was stunned. Her eyes were this shade of blue that reminded him of flowers. He had forgotten the name, but they were beautiful. He felt something shift, but paid it no mind. He had to know if this girl was alright or not and it was drying him crazy. Finally, she nodded her head. "That's good." He let out a silent sigh of relief that went unnoticed by the girl. He studied her for a moment. She had dark blue hair and a fair complexion with these little freckles, it suited her face.

"Thank you...for saving me." She said as he placed her down. He nodded and the sound of footsteps alerted him.

"It's really no problem. Please don't mention it again." He said as he continued to study the girl. Usually, people would be screaming if they fall from a high place, yet this girl didn't. It was as if she was used to falling off high places. He mentally snorted. Like that was going to happen, but the girl was interesting to watch. He watched as the girl's attention was somewhere else before turning invisible.

"Marinette! Are you alright?" He saw her parents rush out from the front door and rush to the girl, Marinette. Marinette...the name rolled off his head easily as he stored it into his memory. He decided to leave, his job was done. Besides, it would be better if he left anyways before he started any trouble. He began to walk over to his temporary home. At least it was empty like before. He climbed up the stairs to the massage room where it was turned into a small tea table. There sat an old man with gray hair.

"How was your walk, Danny?" The older man asked as Danny walked past him. Before he could walk to the hallway to his room, he stopped. He was thinking on that walk, but it seemed that everything disappeared once that girl fell into his arms. He couldn't even remember what he was thinking about before Marinette fell into his arms.

"Productive." Danny answered making the old man hum.

"I have gotten all your school papers in order and you start school tomorrow." Danny nodded and walked out of the room. School, practically the bane of his existence. No matter where he went it was always the status quo where bullies are number one and he was always at the bottom of the social latter. How could this school be any different? And with that, Danny went straight to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, this is another chapter for the rewrite. I like all the positive reviews that I've gotten so far and understood that this rewrite seems a lot better than the original. Sorry that I've been out of commission for a few days, I've been sick (no not COVID-19), just with a little cold. I hope you guys are staying safe and trying to maintain social distancing even while you are out. Please stay safe.**

**DragonKing49: **Yeah, I know I make a lot of mistakes on these. I don't re-read them unless I truly like the chapter. Which is very rare. But I'm glad you find this interesting.

**MoonPrincess919: **Yeah I figured that. I liked rewriting the first part.

**devilzxknight86: **I didn't like it when I read it. That's about it. Plus I forgot some things.

**dimortum: **Don't have neough brain power to write longer. Maybe if I'm on a streak.

**Minty220: **I was having a pretty bad day then you reviewed and brought up my mood. So thank you. I read it like three times. Hope you have a good day.

**omarboxigwa: **I can try, but it'll be hard. I literally work 40 hours per week, but I can try.

**aquestionableprecence: **I was just going to say yes, but I rather explain it. Yes, this is a rewrite. I'm a lazy author that I want to rewrite. Oh well.

**I can cry you a river: **Your review also made my day and you agree with me! But I think that the creators made Marinette way too insecure really. I think in the future Danny will act a certain way towards his friends and a different way towards everyone else.

**Also don't forget to leave a review on what you thought of the story so far. **

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**R&R**

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**The New Boy in School (Edited)**

_"Why, Danny? Why?! You killed us! WE TRUSTED YOU!"_

Danny's eyes shot open and he didn't waste a second before leaning over his bed and emptying his stomach. That nightmare was too real, too much for him. The amount of gore in that nightmare was beyond anything he had ever seen. He stared at his vomit as he wiped his hand across his mouth. He remembered, that wasn't a nightmare, but a memory. A horrible and sadistic memory.

He quickly got out of bed (carefully avoiding the vomit) and picked up a towel. He quickly cleaned up his mess and tossed the towel into the washing machine. He watched for a bit as water filled the machine and started to swirl around. His mind drifted towards the memory as his hands slowly turned into fists. He was weak. Way beyond weak. If he couldn't save his family, then why the heck should he be hailed by as a hero by some? They were right to call him a menace to society, the GIW was right, Valerie was right...his parents were right.

Danny left the washroom and entered the bathroom. He turned on the shower and looked at himself in the mirror. He had changed so much since then. His hair was a little bit longer and he looked sleepy. Those bags underneath his eyes seemed to darken after that day and his eyes lost their sparkle. To him, they were a dull blue, reflecting nothing but regret and guilt. He ran a hand through his hair and quickly entered the shower.

Danny quickly got clean and entered his room. While drying his hair, he noticed a new set of clothes as well as a purple folded piece of paper. Danny picked up the paper and quickly unfolded it. A small smile graced his lips at the sender.

_Daniel, I know these are tough times for you and it gnaws away at me for not being able to help you. But I have thought that a new set of clothes might boost your spirits. Stay safe and live life to the fullest._

_Sincerely,_

_Clockwork. _

Danny put down the paper and looked at the clothes. It was nice for a friend to get him clothes. Danny didn't blame Clockwork for what happened then, he blamed himself. If he hadn't let his grief and regret get to him, then none of that would have happened. Anger flowed through Danny, but soon faded after he sighed. Anger was the one thing that turned him into _**HIM**_. He quickly got dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't look half bad.

He wore a light gray t-shirt with a little quote on his right pectoral which read "Time has a beautiful way of showing us what truly matters". Danny shook his head, of course Clockwork had to add that little tidbit. Over his gray shirt was a black leather jacket. On his triceps were these two white circles. It even had a button collar that he could attach together if he wanted to. Then he wore black camo pants with two pockets on each side. Then he wore these gray camo boots with bright green soles. Then on his belt loop, was a silver chain that held multiple charms. He couldn't help but smile as he studied them.

A gray wolf which represented Wulf, his giant wolf ghost friend who only spoke esperanto. A green dog charm that reminded Danny of Cujo. Cujo was such an adorable dog, he wondered how Cujo was doing. Next was a blue dragon and Danny knew immediately who it was. Queen, formerly Princess, Dorathea of the medieval kingdom, Aragon. There was even a pocket-watch attached to the end of a chain which Danny knew who it was from. There was a spartan helmet which Danny had no doubt was Pandora. He had only met her once when he was traveling the Ghost Zone. Fortunately, she was really nice and he wasn't trying to take her box. Then there was a blue rock which looked like ice. Danny had to admit the Far Frozen were pretty good warriors and even helped with his ice powers that he discovered when he landed in their realm by accident.

"Thanks, Clockwork." Danny whispered as he picked up his satchel and walked out of his room. He saw Fu was there drinking his morning tea as he walked into the living room.

"Morning, Danny." Fu said as Danny picked a piece of fruit next to the phonograph which was giving off a weird vibe.

"Morning..." Danny said as he stared at the phonograph for a second before blinking and turning away. "I'm heading out." Danny said as he took a bite out of the apple.

"Very well, have a nice day at school." Danny nodded and exited the apartment. He closed the door behind him and lingered for just a few seconds before leaving. He walked and ate his apple. He stopped just across the street just as the bell rang. He waited for the walk sign to light up when he heard someone running behind him.

"Oh no! I'm late! I'm so late! Maman and Papa are going to kill me." He knew that voice. He turned around and noticed that girl, Marinette, from last night. He turned forward to see cars still running through the street and then back over his shoulder to see Marinette still running, not paying attention to the traffic. He sighed as he grabbed Marinette by the arm just before she ran out in the middle of the street. He watched as Marinette took a deep breath and then smiled. "Thanks for saving me there." Danny nodded and took another bite out his apple.

"Hey, you saved me last night!" Danny looked at Marinette and gave her a curt nod. "I never really got to thank you." She brushed a stray hair right behind her ear somehow capturing his attention.

"You don't have to." Danny said curtly making Marinette shake her head.

"No, I really insist. Here, my Papa gave me these this morning." She held out a brown paper bag which to Danny with his advanced senses smelled of cookies. He held out a hand and Marinette placed the bag in his hands.

"Thanks." He muttered as the sign allowed them to walk across. There was a moment of silence between them, just before Marinette shattered it.

"I never got your name. I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" She beamed at him as Danny grunted.

"Danny Fu." Danny continued walking with Marinette right beside him.

"Are you the new student everyone's talking about?" Marinette asked making Danny nod. "Oh! That's so cool! Can I show you around during nutrition or maybe lunch?" Danny couldn't help but feel uplifted about her bubbly personality. But being that kid kid who always kept his emotions inside, he could see the sadness in her eyes. It wouldn't do much hard to indulge in her.

"Sure." Marinette smiled and nodded.

"It was nice meeting you, Danny. I hope we see each other soon." Then Marinette ran up the stairs and into her classroom. Danny stopped walking and stared idly at the door. Marinette Dupain-Cheng...Such an odd person. He gave a small smirk before walking up the stairs to the principal's office. He knocked on the door and heard a "come in". He opened the door and was greeted by a hairy man and a tall long neck woman.

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Marinette opened the door and noticed that Ms. Mendeleiev wasn't there yet. She gave out a huge sigh of relief as she walked over to her seat and sat down. She was pretty lucky so far today. First she met the same boy, Danny, that saved her last night and then Ms. Mendeleiev didn't show or chew her out for being late! She'd say that today was off to a pretty good start.

"What's got you so happy, Marinette?" Marinette turned to her best friend, Alya Cesaire. She was the creator and owner of Paris's most famous blog, the Ladyblog. Marinette thought it was kind of ironic when she was Ladybug and her best friend couldn't figure out she was Ladybug. It's been about a half a year since she became Ladybug and Chat Noir became well, Chat Noir.

"It's nothing." Marinette said as she waved it off, but like a reporter, Alya never gives up.

"Oh yeah. The only time I've ever seen you so happy was when you wanted to give Ad-" Marinette quickly put her hand over Alya's mouth, effectively silencing the girl.

"Alya!" The said girl didn't even look sorry. Marinette took her hand away from the reporter's mouth and sighed. "Fine. Yesterday, my railing broke while I was leaning over it." Alya gasped making everyone turn to her.

"You fell off your roof?! Did you get hurt anywhere?!" Alya exclaimed making sure to check Marinette thoroughly for any kind of scraps for bruises.

"No, Alya! I'm fine. Really!" Everyone started to fuss over Marinette who blushed over the amount of attention she was getting.

"It would be an improvement if Mari-trash banged her face on the ground." Almost everyone in the class glared at the stuck up brat, Chloe Bourgeois. Chloe flipped her unnaturally blonde hair to the side. "Am I right, Sabrina?" Sabrina nodded with a small smile.

"Oh yes, Chloe. You're always right!" Chloe smirked.

"I know." Chloe gave Marinette a mean smile as Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Chloe, Marinette could have died." Adrien, Marinette's long time crush said as Chloe fluttered her eyes at Adrien.

"Oh, Adrikins. The world would be a better place without that trash." Alya was about to shout something, but Marinette cut in before she could do anything rash.

"I'm fine, everyone. Someone caught me before I reached the ground." Marinette said as they all started to question who it was.

"Was it Ladybug? Or Chat Noir?" She heard Alya ask.

"It had to be Ladybug!" Another said as everyone kept going around if it was one of the two Parisian heroes.

"It was a guy. He caught me and saved my life." Marinette said as the girls in her class, minus the obvious two, started to awe.

"Was he hot?" Before Marinette could answer, the door opened revealing Ms. Mendeleiev. She glared at the room as she stood in front of her desk.

"Go to your seats and sit down." Everyone quickly went to their seats and didn't make any noise. They all knew better than to go against Ms. Mendeleiev especially in the morning. "We have a new student. Come in." The door opened and revealed those blue eyes that she dreamed about last night. Marinette beamed as Danny stood in the middle of the room. "Everyone, this is Danny. Want to share something with the class?" Danny looked around and then locked eyes with her.

"No." His eyes left her right after he said that as he looked somewhere else. Marinette tried not to giggle at the scene. Ms. Mendeleiev seemed surprised and no one made her surprised. Slowly her teacher's face changed to annoyance.

"Share something." She snapped as Danny shrugged.

"I'm from America." Danny said as he turned to look out the window.

"Okay. Then go take a seat somewhere." Danny nodded and headed to the past. Marinette stared at Danny as he passed by her and took the seat next to Nathaniel. Marinette looked back at front and looked down at her purse. Tikki was inside glaring at her, mainly cause she gave her cookies to Danny earlier today. Can you blame her? She gave cookies to the guy who saved her life last night. Marinette gave her kwami a little smile before turning back to the teacher. She could talk to him more after class.


	3. Chapter 3

**I got some very positive feedback which I love. I'm literally stuck in my room and had to go get tested for COVID, but I'm sure that I don't have it. Hope you guys are doing well. Also, the show for miraculous Ladybug will begin before "Darkblade". I really have nothing to say in my author notes so let's just go straight to reviews and then the story.**

**Minty220: **That's the one thing I really changed in this story. Danny is going to be an emo lord, but I think Marinette's natural peppy self will bring him out of it (hopefully). Also that's another thing I rushed, Phantom and Danny. I think Phantom wasn't really needed in the story until later, so I am going to do that. Thanks for reading my story.

**devilzxknight86: **I don't know if I'm going to give Danny a miraculous. The person who requested this story wants Danny to have one so I think I'm going to do something so that it doesn't make Danny this overpowered god. Lots of things have changed now with Danny talking though not as much. I think Danny will sit on the sidelines for a couple of miraculous episodes.

**aquestionableprecence: **I just feel bad about rewriting stories that people have read before. It just makes me kind of uncomfortable since I feel like I annoy some of the readers by doing this.

**qazse: **Oh, don't worry. Danny will not sit around while Chloe bullies people. He's had enough of that in his life. And about Adrien, I was already planning on it. There is going to be so much bashing on the Agreste Family that they don't even know it. Just wait until that happens.

**I can cry you a river: **Which is why Danny shall boost Marinette's confidence. I've always liked people that act soft towards some but indifferent to others. And I agree. Marinette does deserve a lot more than she gets in the story.

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**R&R**

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**The Lunch Time ****Special**

The bell rang signaling the end of class and the beginning of lunch. Marinette gave a huge sigh of relief. She was waiting for an akuma attack to happen at any moment, but there was none. Plus she wanted to get to know Danny.

"Mari, do you want to have lunch with me, Nino, and Adrien?" Alya asked as Marinette shook her head.

"Sorry, Alya. But I'm going to show Danny around school." Marinette said making Alya blink.

"But gurl..." Alya covered her mouth with one hand away from the boys and whispered, "Adrien." Marinette looked at the blonde model who was laughing at something Nino said. Marinette gulped. Usually she would jump at the chance to go to lunch with Adrien, who usually had to go home to eat lunch with his father, but she owed it to Danny.

"Sorry, Alya. I kinda promised Danny I'd show him around the school." Marinette said with an apologetic smile. Alya couldn't believe her ears. Marinette, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was rejecting to go to lunch with her crush, THE Adrien Agreste. Now that was something she hadn't seen at all.

"Wow..." Alya said as Marinette got up and turned to look at Danny who was sitting in the back of the class with a far away look on his face. "Wonder what he did to get your attention." Marinette giggled as she put on her backpack.

"Remember when I told you someone saved me from the fall yesterday?" Alya nodded, not knowing where this was going. "Well, Danny was the person who caught me last night. So I owe him." Marinette said as she walked away from her desk and towards Danny. "Hey, Danny." Danny's eyes snapped to hers and her breath hitched in her throat. So much emotion in there. Anger, Wistfulness, Guilt, Regret were swimming in his eyes. Then he blinked and they were gone and Marinette snapped out of the trance.

"Marinette." He said with his deep voice. She gave him a soft smile and gripped the strap of her backpack tighter.

"I was wondering if I could show you around campus?" Marinette asked as Danny blinked. "W-Well, I...I did promise you." Marinette was nervous. Why was she so nervous? She heard Danny sigh and then nod.

"Sure." Danny stood up and Marinette beamed. "You look like a person who keeps their promises." Marinette froze. No one ever said that about her. It had to be a compliment right?

"Okay! I'll-" But Marinette was pushed out of the way and landed on her butt, hard. She closed her eyes to numb the pain she felt on her rear and when she opened them she saw Chloe latched onto Danny's arm.

"Hey, there tall and strong. Why don't I take you around campus?" Chloe asked with that sickly sweet smile of hers as Marinette stood up, rubbing her butt to numb the pain.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" She looked at Danny whose eyes were only focus on her. She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Marinette said with a smile as Chloe frowned.

"You shouldn't be wasting your time with this piece of trash. All she ever does is make a mess of herself." Chloe said as she began laughing in her high pitched voice. Marinette glared at Chloe as Sabrina laughed along with her, then she noticed the anger in Danny's eyes.

"If there is one thing I hate most in this world, it's bullying." Danny said with a dark tone. The temperature in the room seemed to drop and Marinette could see her breath. It was a nice day outside, not forty degrees.

"Bullying? Are you accusing moi of bullying?" Danny turned his head to Chloe, but she didn't notice him glaring at her. "I was just showing this trash her place. Below our feet." Marinette noticed Danny shaking, possibly out of anger.

"So you believe that because people aren't rich like you, that they should grovel below your feet. Bend to your every will?" Marinette noticed that everyone was now watching them.

"Of course. You know my Daddy is the mayor. I can close her parents' little bakery with a whisper to my father." Chloe then looked to Danny, his chest was heaving. Marinette didn't dare say anything. "You know...Danny is such a..." Chloe trailed off as she looked into Danny's eyes.

"You know..." His voice was so oddly calm that it made shivers run everyone's back. "I knew a girl like you. Rich, pretty." Marinette deflated, but then Danny continued. "top of the food chain, but dumb, spoiled." His voice became angrier and angrier. "Entitled. Her name was Paulina. And she-" Danny ripped his arm from Chloe who looked taken aback. "was the bane of my existence. I hate people like you and if you dare lift a finger to harm Marinette or her family, I will personally teach you a lesson." Marinette watched in awe as Danny stood up for her. No one had ever done that for her other than Alya, but that was only because Chloe took her seat.

"O-Oh, y-yeah!" Chloe gritted her teeth and flipped her hair. "J-JUST WAIT TILL MY FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS!" Marinette watched Danny wince. Why wouldn't he? He was right next to the yellow banshee.

"You okay, Marinette?" Marinette looked at Danny and nodded.

"Thanks..for standing up for me." Marinette said as Danny shrugged.

"Danny, right?" Marinette turned around to see Adrien walking up to them with his dazzling smile. Marinette felt a blush rising, but then quickly fought it down. She didn't notice Danny raising an eyebrow at her.

"A-Adrien!" Marinette squeaked as Danny nodded.

"You didn't have to treat Chloe like that. She's just..." Danny put up a hand to stop Adrien.

"I don't know who you are. All I know is that your name is Adrien. Don't be making up excuses for the banshee when obviously she doesn't to apologize for herself." Danny said making Adrien freeze. Then Danny turned to Marinette. "Come on, you're supposed to show me around school." Marinette beamed and shook her head.

"I'll treat you to lunch." Danny blinked and then shrugged.

"Sure." Then they walked out of class together leaving Adrien to himself.

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Adrien watched as Danny and Marinette leave the room. He gritted his teeth and curled his hand into a fist. No one was in the room as Plagg, his cat themed kwami, flew out of his button down.

"Wow, that Danny kid really told you, huh kid." Plagg said as Adrien walked to the front of the class and picked up his satchel.

"Shut up, Plagg. Chloe's a nice person. She just needs time." Plagg crossed his arms and nodded.

"Of course, kid. Of course." Plagg then flew into Adrien's shirt as he walked out of the classroom. He walked out of the school and into his father's car. He looked out the window as Gorilla closed the door and got into the driver's seat. Adrien crossed his arms and looked out the window. He watched people and houses pass by. Then he spotted them. _Danny _and Marinette.

What was so special about _him_? Adrien huffed as the car pulled through the gates of his home. The car opened and Adrien stepped out.

"Thanks." Adrien said as the Gorilla grunted. Adrien walked up the stairs as Natalie, his father's assistant, opened the giant door. Another day in a huge house by himself.

"Are you ready for lunch, Adrien?" Adrien nodded and walked past Natalie. "I shall call you when lunch is ready. Please go and practice your piano." Adrien sighed and walked up the stairs to his room. He closed the door behind him and sighed. He threw his bag onto his bed and sat down in front of his piano.

"Adrien~" Plagg whined as Adrien lifted the cover of his piano. He didn't even know why is father made him play the piano. He didn't even like the piano! "Cheese! I need cheese." Adrien rolled his eyes and pointed to his desk.

"There's your cheese, Plagg. Now go away!" Adrien said as he placed his hands on the keys and took a deep breath. His fingers lightly danced over the keys as the melody soared. Music filled his ears as the sound fell and rose. This was one of his favorite songs. River Flows in You by Yiruma. The song slowed to an end as Adrien sat there, his hands falling to his sides.

He remembered how he and Chloe used to play together as children. She was the sweetest girl and they were the best of friends. Chloe in his eyes was a kind girl. Sure, she could act a little rough around the edges, but inside she was still kind and sweet. Adrien smiled to himself as he stood up, then there was a knock on the door.

"Adrien, it is time for lunch." Adrien sighed and walked over the the door.

"Plagg, don't break anything." Adrien said to the kwami who was stuffing its face with cheese.

"Yesh..." Adrien shook his head and walked out. Another lunch by himself, just like how it always is. Besides, he could make Danny like him. It only took a couple of days like it did with Marinette. Yeah, he could make it work.

* * *

"America, huh?" Marinette asked as Danny nodded. He walked next to her as they walked across the street. "What's that like?" Danny shrugged. He didn't really want to talk about his family. It was way too close to their deaths.

"Uh..." Danny gulped wondering what to say. Marinette seemed to catch on to that.

"Oh! It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." Marinette said with a smile. Danny couldn't believe his ears. No one, not a single person in his life ever cared about his feelings. Sam certainly didn't, she would always pry into everything. Tucker wasn't a very good listener to anything he would say. Jazz would try to "fix" him. No one ever truly cared how he felt about immediately telling them his feelings.

"America...is a bad memory." Danny said as he looked around, not towards Marinette. "Chloe just really touched a nerve and I vented. I don't vent very well." He looked at Marinette who was listening intently.

"You don't have to share anything me, Danny. I'm a good listener, if you need anyone to talk to." Marinette said as they stopped in front of her parents' home/bakery. "Come on, my mom should be upstairs." Danny nodded and followed Marinette up the stairs. "Maman!" He heard the clanging of pots and pans, too low for the normal human ear to hear.

"Right here, Marinette!" Marinette opened the door to the living room and the halfa followed her in. He looked around. It seemed like a really nice and cozy place. He looked at the bookshelf and noticed a picture of Marinette and her family. She looked like her mother with her blue hair and blue eyes. She seemed so happy. Danny swallowed a lump in his throat as looked past the picture.

"I brought a friend today for lunch, is that alright?" He heard Marinette ask as he rounded the corner to see Marinette's mom. She looked exactly like the photo. A bob cut hairstyle till the length of her shoulders. He wondered if she had a bit of Asian descent in her.

"Hello, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. I am Danny Fu." Danny said as Marinette's mother smiled.

"Oh, honey. Please don't call me Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Please call me Sabine." Sabine said as Danny nodded.

"Then please call me Danny." Danny said as Sabine smiled. His breath hitched in his throat. It was a smile full of motherly love and it reminded him of his own mother, even when Maddie didn't really pay attention to him all that often.

"Of course, dear. Come and sit. It seems that I made too much food, won't you join us for lunch, Danny?" Sabine asked as Danny nodded. It would be nice to have a home cooked meal for once. Danny silently chuckled as he remembered how his family always made their food come to life, so they had to eat cereal.

"I would love to, Sabine." Marinette beamed at him and he sat down at the table. Sabine grinned and looked to Marinette.

"I'm going to go and give your father some lunch. You two help yourselves." Sabine said as Marinette nodded. Marinette quickly got Danny some food and placed it in front of him. Danny looked at the hot plate in front of him. It all looked delicious.

"It's chinese food. My mother loves to cook traditional food from her hometown." Marinette said as she sat down next to Danny.

"She's chinese?" Danny asked as he took a bite of the noodles. It took all his restraint not to moan at how good the food tasted. Marinette nodded.

"Yeah, she came to Paris and met my Papa. They fell in love and made their own bakery. It's one of the most popular bakeries in France." Marinette said as she began to eat. They ate in silence for a bit until the door opened.

"Ah! So you're the friend Marinette brought over for lunch!" Danny heard a bellowing voice from behind. Then he felt a huge hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a huge man standing over him and then turned back to Marinette who was giggling. Then he remembered the picture on the bookshelf, this was Marinette's father.

"Hello, Mr. Dupain-Cheng. It is a pleasure to meet you." Danny said as Mr. Dupain-Cheng laughed. Luckily, his father was as big as Mr. Dupain-Cheng otherwise he would have jumped out of his seat.

"Ha ha! Call me Tom!" Tom said with his booming voice as Sabine giggled behind him. Danny turned to Marinette who was giving him a small smile. Danny closed his eyes, then turned to Tom and opened them with a little smile.

"Then please call me Danny, Tom." Danny said as Tom grinned brightly at him.

"Of course, Danny! You are a friend of our little girl!" Tom looked over to Marinette who blushed a deep crimson.

"Papa! Please!" Marinette whined as Danny hid his amusement. He watched silently as Marinette interacted with her parents. It reminded him so much of his family. The little quips here and there along with the sense of family love. He could tell that Sabine and Tom cared about Marinette very much.

"So...Danny..." Danny snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Sabine. "Marinette tells us you saved her yesterday night when the railing fell on her balcony." Danny blinked and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's really no big deal. I just caught her like anyone else would have done." Danny said as Tom and Sabine gave him soft smiles.

"You still saved our little girl. We will always be grateful for that." Tom said making Danny blink. He had never been thanked for saving people before. As Phantom, people would call him a menace and try to attack him. Danny clutched at his chest feeling something warm inside. He hadn't felt this since that day and it felt nice. It felt like something was being restored within him. He looked at the Dupain-Cheng family who was smiling softly at him. In their eyes, there was no sense of malice or trickery.

"Thank you."

* * *

A faint smile graced the Time Keeper's lips as he watched the display before him. His name was Clockwork that ancient keeper of time. To many, he is referred to as a myth even to many residing in the Ghost Zone. Though the few who have had the pleasure of meeting him, knew how real he was. Clockwork lives in his tower of Time, known to almost never leave this residence. But the one thing that Clockwork was known to watch over all streams of time.

If you were to ask Clockwork, there were many different strands of time. Some that revealed the past. Some that revealed outcomes that never came to be. Many of them showed the future and their many possible outcomes. But the one strand of time Clockwork liked to watch the most was a young halfa by the name of Daniel Fenton/Phantom.

"He is truly a work of art." Clockwork said as the screen blackened and the keeper turned around.

"Clockwork! What is the meaning of this?!" Clockwork sighed. Of course, those floating eyeball freaks had to come and ruin a perfectly good day.

"Whatever do you mean?" Clockwork asked feigning ignorance towards the Observants. Those eyeballs thought that they ruled the Ghost Zone and the power had gone to their head after the fall of Pariah Dark.

"You know exactly what we mean! Letting that monstrosity live and then sending him off to another dimension? You have no right to interfere at all!" One of the observants argued making Clockwork a bit more than just angry.

"Interfere?" Clockwork's voice was low and threatening making the Observants shiver in fear. "Your name is the Observants, if I am not mistaken. You observe the timeline whereas I watch every route, path, and outcome of everything. Which is why I am the Keeper of Time. You are stepping onto matters you do not understand." One of the eyeballs pointed to Clockwork.

"Yet, it is forbidden for you to interfere in mortal matters." He said as Clockwork looked back to the screen. It glowed showing the fight between Phantom and Pariah Dark.

"I am sure you forget, my interference was necessary. You do not run the Infinite Realm as it chooses its ruler. The last person that the Realm chose was Pariah Dark, but now its alliance has shifted." Clockwork smirked as the observants gasped.

"Y-You c-can't be serious! H-HIM!" One of the obersvants pointed to the screen as it showed Phantom standing on top of the Eiffel Tower with his silver hair swaying in the wind. Clockwork nodded.

"Of course. He is the rightful King of the Infinite Realm." Clockwork turned back towards the floating eyes with a glint in his eye. "And as his ward until he reaches the appropriate age, I have every right to interfere with his future as it deems fit. You wouldn't want to be charged with the assassination of the rightful King, would you?" Clcokwork grinned as the Obersvants took a step back.

"W-Why, y-you!" The Obersvants said as Clockwork pointed his staff at them.

"Now, begone!" And with that the eyeballs were expelled from his tower. After they left his tower, Clockwork let out a sigh of relief. He would have to thank Daniel later for getting rid of the Obersvants. Maybe when Daniel comes back from his "rehabilitation", they could get rid of the Observants. It would really life a burden off his shoulders. But for now... Clockwork turned to the screen to see him with the Dupain-Cheng family.

"Just live for now, Daniel. That's all I ask of you. Just live."


End file.
